Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research published by the TUC that estimated that the number of children growing up in poverty in working households will be one million higher in 2018 than in 2010; and how this compares to their own research.

The TUC figures estimate that an extra one million children in working families will be in relative low income in 2018/19 compared to 2009/10 on an after housing cost basis. During this period, there has been an increase in both the child population and the numbers of people in employment. The overall proportion of children in relative low income on an After Housing Cost basis was 30 per cent in both 2009/10 and 2016/17. This figure is not directly affected by both changes in the population and the increase in children in working families so provides a better assessment of what has happened since 2010.

In addition, absolute low income measures, which assess living standards for low income households against inflation, show the proportion of children in absolute low income on an After Housing Costs basis fell from 28 per cent to 26 per cent between 2009/10 and 2016/17. Furthermore, the latest national statistics show the proportion of children in material deprivation and low income has never been lower. Both of these suggest the living standards of children in low income households have been improving in real terms over this period.

Children in workless families are five times more likely to be in low income than those in working families demonstrating that work is the best route out of poverty. The number of people in employment has risen by three million since 2010. Increases in the National Living Wage and Tax Allowances have increased the incomes of working families. Around half of working people who are in low income are self- employed or work part time. Universal Credit has been designed to encourage people into work and to increase their earnings in order to improve their living standards.